Oct 09 2007
Would an NFL Team in Toronto Really Kill the CFL?
Canadian football is still one of the biggest sports tickets north of the U.S. border, but at least one CFL team president thinks the NFL could crush the CFL with one move.
In an article in the Winnipeg Sun, B.C. Lions President Bob Ackles believes that the future of the CFL is at stake if an NFL team moves to Toronto.
“No question in my mind a team could be successful in Toronto,” Ackles told Sun Media. “But it would take southern Ontario and immediately kill Toronto and Hamilton and therefore it would kill the Grey Cup and the CFL. I don’t think there’s any question about that.”
Translation: those imperialist bastards could trample something that’s uniquely Canadian, and we value our Canadian-ness. (Keep in mind that one of the MVP trophies handed out at the Grey Cup is for Most Valuable Canadian.)
This is clearly an attempt by Ackles to help boost his country’s national identity, though I have to wonder how much identity you can put into a 3-down, 110-yard variation on a game played by your neighbors to the south. The differences between American and Canadian football aren’t quite as severe as the differences between, say, rugby union and rugby league. Wouldn’t it be better for the gridiron game to unify under one code, even if it involved adding some Canadian elements to the American game? (The wider field and more liberal pre-snap motion rules come to mind.)
And where does all this expansion talk come from, anyway? The NFL is evenly aligned right now, and adding only one expansion team would ruin the format. If the NFL were to expand, it would literally have to expand by four teams — two in the AFC, two in the NFC — to remain even, and then it would have to realign each conference into three divisions of six teams, which might ruin a lot of current division rivalries and make a 16-game schedule a bit trickier to pull off.
That alone will keep the NFL out of Toronto for a while. I’m a little surprised anyone is bringing this up now, out of the clear blue nowhere. After all, if the Canadians stuck to playing rugby union, rather than letting ol’ Thrift Burnside change the rules to create a gridiron game, this wouldn’t even be an issue, would it?
(Spotted on FanHouse. Represent!)
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NFL expansion into Canada would get political pretty quick, so I doubt it would happen.
Since there isn’t an international governing body that could unify NFL, CFL, NCAA, and all the other university and lower level academic athletic organizations that control the gridiron game in North America, I doubt we will see a unified code any time soon. If NFL and NCAA can’t even agree on the measurements of the gridiron itself, how are they going to absorb the CFL?
True comments about gridiron vs. rugby league and rugby union. Rugby league diverged from union; Canadian gridiron has done the opposite, converging over the years to become similar to the American game.
Personally I see nothing wrong with Canada keeping its own version of the game. Vive la difference and all that.
On the other hand, Toronto Argonauts have been making noises about stealing BMO field from Toronto FC and converting it to a longer gridiron stadium, so screw the Argos and the CFL and the horse they rode in on. Go TFC!
I think more of the talk of Toronto’s chance at a team is relocation. Skydome isn’t up to snuff though so they’d need a new stadium first. It’s all a pipe dream if LA is still sitting out there as the 800 lb gorrilla in the room though.
My point exactly. There’s no chance of expansion right now, only relocation, and L.A. is way ahead of Toronto right now. So why is this suddenly an issue?
Ultimately, though, I see Buffalo to Toronto and San Diego or Jax :’-( to LA. San Diego if no stadium solution presents itself, and Jacksonville because… well, Dave has posted on it about a bajillion times over at Fanhouse.
I do think there would end up being some sort of arrangement between the NFL and CFL to ensure the latter’s survival if a team shows up in Toronto.
Oh, and add a second voice telling the Argos to lay off BMO field.
The Argos had a chance to be in BMO Field when they were planning the stadium and turned it down. Now they want to move?? The changes to the field would be significant, with the 150-yd CFL field (110 plus two 20-yard endzones).
Re: NFL in Canada. The only worry I would have about its success in southern Ontario would be that every NFL fan here already has a favourite team. And about six NFL teams within easy driving distance (Det, Buf, Cle, Pitt, Cincy, Indy). Would I become a season-ticket holder of the Toronto Whatevers if it meant that I would miss most of *my* favourite team’s games (since going to an NFL game is a full-day experience)? Probably not.
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Check it out!!!!
http://www.q107.com/FunStuff/ShowUsYourTrueColours/Browse.aspx